


Tiger Shark

by fabricdragon



Series: Shapeshifter and Werecreature shuffle [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Lighthouses, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Scuba Diving, Sharks, Tags May Change, Were-Creatures, do not copy to any other site
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2020-10-10 15:21:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabricdragon/pseuds/fabricdragon
Summary: a bit of flash fiction for Mickie involving lighthouses and oceans... and in this case a Tiger Shark.while this is based in the Sherlock BBC universe (AU obviously) you could easily read this as  any characters you like, and could be read as Original Characters (at least the first chapter)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mickie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickie/gifts).

He was tangled in _ something _that cut into him and wrapped around him… he was drowning and… there was something important- something he had to do- but he couldn't think…

And then there was a… _ something… _ with a … _ something… _words were gone… and he was free, but… so tired, he couldn't… couldn't breathe…

…

He woke up to realize the _ human _ … with a _ knife _ … that had cut him free of the _ fishing net _… was pushing him through the water… forcing water over his gills…

He managed to move his tail and body in a coordinated fashion and move forward…

The human moved away…

He swam until he could think again, and circled back around the human again… he was holding a knife and watching him- there were shreds of fishing net clinging to him still.

He circled the man once more and noted the boat at anchor not far away… he went off to find food: he was hungry and he didn't want to eat the human…

They never had enough fat on them anyway.

~

Jim hauled himself back up on the boat, grinning. He took out the regulator mouthpiece and pushed the dive mask up on his head: “THAT was incredible!”

“That was insanely risky,” his pilot shook his head and got the mate to help him back aboard. “You are very lucky you didn't get bitten.”

“Sharks are awesome!” _ That had been a gorgeous specimen, too- been in a bad fight when it was younger, judging from the scars, and survived: it would be a crime to let it die in a drifting net. _

The mate wrapped a blanket around him and got him over to one of the lounge chairs. “Sharks are very impressive, but not very smart, and even something smarter like a dog will bite you if it's hurt or panicked.” 

Jim was starting to shake- you never realized how much energy you were using up until you were back dealing with that pesky gravity stuff. “Yeah, well… no harm done and I got to hold a shark and see it at REALLY close range!” _ THIS! this made learning to scuba dive worth every damn minute of the lessons. _

“Well your wetsuit is damaged- probably from the shark skin- and your gloves are cut...can we return to the dock yet, sir?”

Jim looked down at his hands, one of them was bleeding just a tiny bit, and nodded, “yeah, get the first aid kit… and… I think I overdid it a bit, wake me up when we get back to dock…”

…

He threw a party that night, or rather he walked into the club that most of the scuba school teachers went to and cheerfully announced, “Drinks are on me, tonight!”

“Good dive?” Sheryl asked after the cheering died down.

He held up his bandaged hand, “Cut a Tiger Shark out of a ghost net! And yes i got the pieces hauled in too… managed to get it swimming and it swam off on its own after a bit…” Jim was soaking up the awed looks- and the approving look from the senior dive instructor- “i had to swim it a bit to recover… it was AWESOME!”

“Why would you rescue a shark?” some idiot protested and got glared at by the real scuba divers.

“Pictures or it didn't happen!” yelled one of the Americans- Jim thought it was Barney.

Jim smirked, “I had my GoPro running the whoooole time!”

There was a round of cheering and the instructors crowded around to see it. He thought he heard Sam say “this makes it worth putting up with the students, doesn't it,” to one of the other instructors.

He eventually agreed to upload it to the net- after all, it didn't show anything identifiable about HIM, just the shark.

The delight over it all, and the video, and the adulation almost made up for the sunburn he apparently had gotten by being out on the boat too long..

Almost...

Ok it did…

It totally did.

~

The shark moved into a tidal pool- he would normally avoid them as you could get trapped… but he remembered… he remembered how…

When the tide retreated enough, and the water was calm, he pushed himself up and out of the water… he couldn't breathe…

Couldn't…

For a moment he panicked but then he forced himself to remember two legs, and air, and hands… and pulled himself up the rest of the way onto dry land.

…

Sebastian stood up unsteadily and took deep breaths and tried to remember….

…

_ Clothes, right… I’ll need clothes.. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a couple of weeks later...

Jim managed several more dives- once his hands healed enough to be sure he wasn't actively bleeding and he replaced his suit- but while he did see some sharks at a distance, he never got close enough to be certain it was THAT shark. The video of the shark rescue went viral, much to his surprise: he made note of the ones threatening to ‘find the shark and finish it off’ and started making a list of home countries and whether anything could… happen… to them.

It was idle planning, mostly; unless one of them was in a position to actually do anything to any sharks at all- most were not- it simply wasn't worth the effort, but it kept his mind active.

A couple weeks later he was in the bar with the dive instructors as they were discussing a potential dive event for their graduates and advanced students when motion caught his eye…

Right now he was Jim- Jamie- Hall: investment broker and digital nomad, but Jim Moriarty knew danger when it walked in.

“...This the dive group?” the stranger asked, his voice a bit rough.

“Yes? Are you looking to sign up for classes or…?” Sheryl was looking a bit wary at the man, but appreciative: Jim couldn't blame her, he looked good even if he was a bit scruffy.

“I… ah…” he shook his head slowly and scanned the group of them with a puzzled look. Jim was a bit confused by him, he looked… a bit lost, and a bit off balance, but everything else about the man said trained killer and confident… _ maybe he had a head injury? _

“Are you… did you bump your head?” Jim cursed himself for drawing attention, but he never could leave a puzzle. “You look a bit unsteady…”

And the man smiled in relief and _ oh GOD he was good looking when he smiled _. “Yes, actually… I got… badly hurt a good time ago, and… it still…”

One of the instructors got up and directed him to a seat, “Do you dive?”

Jim could see a lot of instructors giving significant glances at each other- he thought one of them muttered about oxygen.

“I… used to.” the fellow shook his head, “I’m Sebastian, i used to be… I used to dive- still can.”

One of the students that Jim didn't know well laughed, “Well you shouldn't dive- you have to be fit and have your wits about you.”

Jim could see most people quietly agreeing- even if he was rude for saying it- when Sebastian’s hand shot out fast and caught the fellow by the wrist.

“I… may be a bit off my prime, civvie, but I’m fitter than you ever were, or will be.”

His voice still had a rough edge, but it was smoothing as he spoke, and that last bit? Jim started wondering about his education: _ Oxford?! _

Sam telegraphed the move and reached over to tug Sebastian’s hand off of the student’s wrist. “He’s very rude, but- Sebastian was it?” Sebastian nodded slowly. “You did say you were injured…” Sam rolled his sleeve up to show his Navy tattoo. “Concussion? Get too close to an underwater explosion?”

Sebastian looked at the tattoo and slowly sat back. “Something like that… I was...hurt in a mission.”

“SBS?”

Sebastian nodded and Jim revised his estimate of the man’s lethality up several levels… still, he didn’t seem to be faking the confusion or the issues speaking, so he wasn't likely on assignment now.

Sam ordered the man one of what he was drinking, “No alcohol,” Sam smiled, “but it's tasty.”

Sebastian sat there quietly with his drink, looking intently at them all as they resumed talking- it was a bit unnerving, but it seemed like he might be having difficulty following things, so the intensity was… explicable.

Probably everyone but Jim had forgotten the man was there- Jim had long ago learned not to ‘forget’ a killer was in range- when he spoke up. “If you’re going to that reef… you need to wait until the dolphins move on.”

“...what?”

“The dolphins.” 

“Uh…” Leanne- one of the graduates from a previous dive class- asked the question everyone else wanted to ask, “why do we have to wait for the dolphins? And… move on?”

“The dolphins are there now.” he frowned, as if something was very obvious to him about that statement.

Barney- one of the Americans- looked over happily, “Wait, really? So we should head out soon and get some swim time in with them!”

Sebastian looked at the man as if he was insane, and then looked around slowly at everyone and shook his head, “Right… you like them.”

Jim grinned, “Well, they might, but I don't so much- although I have to admire their brains.”

Herb- God only knew what his full name was, but he was a hell of an instructor- laughed, “well, Jamie, you still want to find your shark, and no shark with any sense will be around there…”

“Which is why i’m not interested,” Jim agreed.

Sebastian had looked intent at Herb- not too surprising given how much work he seemed to have following the conversation- and was now focused with truly breathtaking intensity at Jim. “Your… shark?”

“Yes? I cut a shark out a drift net a bit ago… it was… it swam off and i haven't seen it again- probably just left the area, but I keep hoping.”

Sebastian smiled again and this time it was aimed at Jim, “oh! You? You’re the one?” he turned his body more toward Jim, “That was… that was good... I was trying to find you.”

Jim couldn't help but be a bit taken aback by the sudden complete attention of the man- _ i wonder if that’s what it's like when I focus on someone? And drop the pretense? _ “You saw the video then?”

He frowned, “...video?”

Jim called the video up on his phone and held it out. He watched it just a bit and his expression cleared, “Yes that… That was you?”

Sam spoke up, “Yes, he came in after the dive and told us about it- we talked him into uploading the video… you like sharks?”

“I am…” he trailed off and looked around and then nodded at Sam, “yes, i like sharks.” then he looked around again and back at Jim, “It’s… I don't… I haven't spoken to people much in a long time.”

Jim shrugged, “it sounded it. You should get out more.”

He just nodded and went back to being quiet: everyone else went back to talking about dives, and dolphins, and their social life.

Eventually Jim slipped away from the crowd and started the walk back. He was almost back to the boat when he realized: _ I am being followed _ . _ I am being followed by someone very quietly. _

Jim ducked away the next time he went through an unlighted stretch and came out behind the man with a knife, “Alright, just what-”

To Jim’s shock- and a bit of panic- the man did something too fast to counter and suddenly he was disarmed and being pressed back into a wall with an arm braced against his throat. _ Shit! Professional, not some common mugger or killer _\- Jim tried to get to his back up knife.

“Hold still and be quiet.” the man’s voice was a growl, and his breath ghosted across Jim’s eyelashes.

Jim swallowed against the pressure on his throat, “So what do you want?”

“...Not to get stabbed, mostly.” 

Jim suddenly recognized the strange combination of accent and tone… _ shit, maybe he WAS on a mission? Or… he could just be a predator and didn't read right because of the injuries... _“Sebastian, right? Uh… look, I have no idea what you want but-”

“I just… wanted to follow you.” the pressure let up on his throat a bit. “Don’t stab me.”

“Okaaaay…” Jim held very still and the man let go of him.

Now that his eyes were adjusted- and he didn't have the man blocking what little light there was- he saw him move away and bend down.

“Here- you don't want to lose your knife.”

“Uh…” Jim blinked several times and realized that… he was actually handing it back. “Thank you? Sorry… I don't react well to dangerous people following me…”

Sebastian chuckled, “Fair. I don’t react well to… people behind me with a weapon.”

His speech was improving rapidly- he must have been quite serious about not talking to many people. “Ok… so we both… just reacted: no harm done, right?”

“Right.”

“So why were you following me?”

“I’d been looking for you; now I found you.” he said as if that made sense- Jim supposed to him it did.

“Because of the shark video?”

“Because of the shark, yes.”

“Uh… ok… so if you aren't trying to hurt me, now what?”

“No?... I don’t want to hurt you!” he sounded as though it had only JUST crossed his mind that Jim might think that. “No! Oh… it's been too long and… I get confused… I just…” he sagged onto the wall next to Jim, “sorry. I… didn’t think.”

“Ok…” Jim took a calming breath, “I was just heading home- someone following me is a bit alarming.”

“Yeah.. it would be.. I wasn't thinking.” Sebastian shook his head. “You live on the boat?” he waved towards the marina- not too difficult to guess since Jim had been walking pretty much straight there.

“Yeah, bad security on my part: I should vary my walk home more, but… “

Sebastian hesitated, “...I don’t have a place to stay here yet. Huh… I should find someplace… but yes, you should be careful. I didn’t mean any harm, but someone else might.”

Jim should, by rights have just told the man it was alright and left… but ...there were brains under there- rather a lot if he was SBS- and he was certainly easy on the eyes, and… better to know where the man was, right?

And yes Jim was curious about the man and he could never let a puzzle go.

“Well, you can walk me back home, then, and… if you promise not to sneak up on me again you can stay on the boat for tonight.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning Sebastian and Jim have a chat over breakfast... once Sebastian remembers to put on clothes...

Sebastian woke up in a bed for the first time in… Well he wasn't sure how long. He’d been hiding the clothes in a small cave and sleeping- if you could call it that- as a shark while he tried to find the human…

He was pretty sure he lost a day or two in there somewhere, but time wasn't that important in the ocean.

It was nice to sleep properly- with legs and arms and breathing air- but the down side was having to get out of bed to take a piss. He managed to remember to use the head and then followed his nose to … _ coffee… that was coffee?! _

“I thought you seemed like a coffee in the morning sort, and most of the military I know-” Jim cut off abruptly and stared at him. It didn't seem hostile, more surprised? _ But he knew i was here?… _

_ Oh! _ “Oh, clothes… right… uh… sorry? I just followed the coffee smell.” Sebastian cleared his throat and turned to go back and get his clothing.

“No, no, that's alright… I was just startled.” Jim said and then muttered, “and that doesn't happen much.”

~

Jim had a minute to process while Sebastian went back for his clothes. He was solid muscle- those clothes did NOT do him justice-and covered in scars. Some of the scars looked like gunshots, a few were probably knife wounds, but the rest? Jim could make out clearly that he had been bitten by what must have been a sizeable shark…. The other wounds weren’t as clear. It was all old though.

The scars had managed to distract him from Sebastian’s other attributes almost until he turned to go…

_ definitely all there and just as nice looking as the rest of him... _

_ Nice ass too. _

Sebastian came back up dressed in the unflattering clothing again- of course: it wasn't like he’d had luggage.

“You know… i’d like to take you shopping and see what you look like in properly fitted clothes.” Jim blurted out. _ I have been in character FAR too long if i’m saying things without thinking like that. _

Sebastian looked down at himself, “oh… yes… ah...it's what i could find.”

“Well sit down, have some coffee and breakfast and… we can talk.” Jim put a plate down in front of him and handed him the coffee, “Sorry about the limited menu: I WAS staying in a flat onshore, but the landlord had to do repairs and honestly it was making it hard to sleep so I moved back onto the boat.”

“Oh, is THAT why?” Sebastian looked like he was going to say more but then he sipped the coffee…. And curled his hands around the mug and closed his eyes… “Mmmmm…. Ohhhh.. Yesssss….”

Jim felt his mouth go a bit dry. _ Good God the noises he made. _ “Haven't… been having any decent coffee?” he didn't think he squeeked.

He didn't say anything at all until he had drunk a good bit of the coffee. “No… haven't.” Sebastian finally said. Then he opened his eyes slowly and looked at Jim… “this is good… I missed this.”

Jim honestly had no idea what to say or how to respond to the man. He was a puzzle of the highest order: good looking, lethal, highly trained and skilled… but… disoriented and non hostile…

He spent most of breakfast trying to figure him out and only got little unconnected bits of data. Finally he broke down and asked, “so… uh… I saw what looked like a shark bite… but you like sharks…?”

“Hmm? Oh… yes. I was bitten…” Sebastian nodded. “Can’t blame… him? Her?”

“Them?” Jim said with a smile.

“Can't blame them,” Sebastian amended, “what with the explosives going off and … the blood.”

“Explosives?”

Sebastian looked at him and opened and closed his mouth a few times, finally he just said, “mission went bad.”

“Ah. and you would have been retired on a medical, of course.” Jim nodded and then hesitated… “But you werent, were you?”

Sebastian smiled at him again, “how did you know?”

“I’m VERY good at reading reactions.”

“No… most of… I think i’m the only one who survived? Maybe not. I just...never went back.” he looked sort of mournfully at the empty coffee mug- Jim got him a refill. “I should have died… better… better they think so.”

Jim had made an empire- and nearly lost it- by being willing to just run with some of his gut instincts… he’d promised himself that he would be more conservative and more cautious… but … _ Fuck it _. “Would you be willing to come work for me?”

Sebastian looked at him curiously, “ok… doing what?”

_ FIRST he says ok, THEN he asks what? _ “Uh… well… to be honest...let's just say a mission went bad on me too… you’d probably just help out on the boat but… what i’d be hiring you for would be a bodyguard.” 

Jim stirred his tea and considered, “To put it in general terms I used… I used to run a big… let's call it a mercenary group…. And… I got… personally involved, and… it went bad.” he looked up at Sebastian sitting perfectly quietly with those bright eyes so intent.

“Anyway, i … i did a lot of stupid risky stuff and… well you know how you said better they thought you were dead?”

Sebastian nodded.

“I deliberately faked mine. They KNOW I’m dead, except I actually just… left.” he sat back and looked out the window over the water, past the other boats. “I miss it… but… I like some of the new things: never knew how to scuba dive before- never saw a shark before…”

“Never?”

“No,” Jim smiled, “Funny, you know, I wouldn't have expected to like sharks, usually my main interest is intelligence: most of them aren’t very bright, but I just have to respect anything that well designed for its environment…Also they arent as dumb as people make them out to be.”

“It's hard to think as a shark.” Sebastian said thoughtfully, “It's just food and the ocean and… swimming…” then he stopped and looked up at Jim, “oh, that came out wrong…”

_ It was clear enough _, Jim thought and said reassuringly, “You’re probably right,” Jim shrugged and waved a hand out over the ocean, “Their world is entirely different, so it would be hard to figure out how they think.”

Sebastian just nodded and went back to making out with his coffee. After a while he cleared his throat, “I… haven't been around people, much, for a long time...if… I worked for you… well… I didn't mean to scare you coming back to the boat? I might… make mistakes.”

“I did get that, still your reflexes are incredibly good… and honestly? If someone thinks you’re stupid- which you aren’t- then they won’t expect you to react that fast.” Jim hesitated, “I honestly don't know how much there would be for you to do… but… just so you understand? If… if any of the people i was getting away from found out i was alive… well, it could get bloody dangerous very fast.”

Sebastian grinned and it sent a bolt of adrenaline up Jim’s spine- and lust down it.

“Oh, i LIKE dangerous... I understand that: it's… the rest of it that’s confusing.”

Jim took a far too hasty swallow of his water and contemplated dropping the rest of the glass in his lap. _ DOWN boy, since when do we let YOU run this business… _ “ah… you… ah… hmm…” Jim finally picked up a tea cup and addressed that, “You’re a very attractive man, Sebastian, but those clothes do NOT do you justice… and ah… when was the last time you saw a doctor and had a health check?” _ Just asking, no reason. _

Sebastian frowned, “no doctors.”

“Well, you should have a blood test…”

“Why?”

Jim bit back ‘_ because i want to fuck you over every surface in this boat _,’ and finally managed to say, “well if you got hurt, i need to know if you have any blood borne illnesses… I don't have any.”

Sebastian blinked a few times and then nodded slowly, “Bodyguard… I could get hurt i suppose?” he sounded doubtful, “but i’m very good…”

“Right… new clothes and… weapons?” Jim watched the man’s whole face light up at the word weapons, “and then we’ll just run by the clinic and get a blood test….”


	4. Ship shape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian gets new clothes and etc. Jim tries not to drool. Discussions are had.  
(a short update but it just naturally broke there)

Sebastian felt so out of place on land. He’d spent too many years as a shark, almost lost himself completely- would have lost himself completely and drowned in a fishing net if it weren’t for the human…

_ No, Jamie- Jim- not ‘the human’. _ Sebastian shook his head to try to clear it as they walked into the store Jim was taking him to…

And caught sight in the mirror of a strange, rumpled and unkempt man trying to get too close to Jim! He turned… _ wait… no one? _ He looked back slowly at the mirror…

_ Oh... oh no… no… _

“Sebastian? Are you alright?” Jamie’s voice barely penetrated as he reached out and touched the mirror.

“That’s me?”

“Ah… yes… yes, mirrors work like that… ah… are you alright?”

“I look horrific!”

Jim blinked several times and then his face went from concerned to amused, “You don't look that bad, but there’s a reason i wanted to buy you new clothes.”

“I look… I look like a bum! No… bums... look better…”

Jim snickered and then cocked his head, “Your speech is improving… and… I thought so: Oxford?”

“Eton and Oxford,” Sebastian answered by reflex as he dragged his fingers through long shaggy hair, and tried to pull it back: to see if he could even recognize the man staring back at him.

The human- _ Jim- _put his hand out gently and pulled on his sleeve, “Come on, let's get you some decent clothes and… would you feel okay with a haircut?”

“I need a haircut and a shave!”

“Well… you might look good with a beard or something but… that is a bit…” Jim was obviously trying to be polite.

“This is not a… beard. Not like …” Sebastian shook his head, “I need to have a haircut and shave.”

“Well this is the clothes store, so… let's get you some clothes and then we can find a barbershop.”

Jim at least seemed to have good taste in clothing. Sebastian couldn’t have picked anything out, it was too overwhelming and too strange after all this time, but when he walked out he was in clothes that fit him at least.

And then Jim took him to a barber and he let Jim tell the man what to do… and then his pocket hummed and he frowned at it. “I have to go make a phone call, I'll be right back, ok?”

“You are safe?”

“Perfectly.” Jim smiled and stepped out.

Sebastian couldn't help but worry but then the barber was asking him things… he tried to explain: “Not LONG, just…”

The barber handed him a magazine and he looked through it and pointed at men with hair he thought was acceptable, then he lay back and tried to stop worrying to the sound of shears and scissors…

~

Jim had panicked at first over Sebastian’s reaction to the mirror- he’d honestly thought he didn't comprehend how mirrors worked!- but it turned out he just didn't recognize himself in the condition he was in…

Well, new clothes and a haircut… oh good, he WANTED a haircut! Not that longer hair and a well groomed beard couldn't look damn fine on him, but what he had now was a mess- better to start fresh.

Even without the haircut the new clothes showed off the muscles that jim knew were under there… he was having a pleasant memory of a nude Sebastian on his boat when his damn phone went off.

They never went off when you WANTED a distraction.

He went outside and dealt with it, and then came back in… and stood there blinking.

The only reason he knew that was the same man standing there as the barber checked the edges of his hairline, was the fact that those were the clothes he had just bought him… 

He had a neat haircut, shorter on the sides and just a BIT longer on top; was clean shaven and running his fingers over his jaw… and when he turned those eyes were suddenly not hidden at all…

“Better.” he nodded firmly.

“Oh my yes…” Jim said, trying desperately not to drool. Time was he would have hired the man as a bodyguard just on looks- often enough he hired flashy bodyguards to draw attention while the real things were much less obtrusive- but then he walked toward him and… damn there was always something sexy in the way a trained killer walked.

“How about-” Jim censored several suggestions- “we get some lunch?”

They walked to a little place Jim had found when he first got here: despite being close to the ‘Westerner’ part of town it was actually a local place and tucked away where the non-natives would never look. 

They sat and had some lovely fish, and a cool beer, and Sebastian looked like he was completely lost in it…

“So,” Jim said after they ate, “we’ll get a quick blood test and-”

“No.” Sebastian shook his head and stopped walking.

Jim sighed, “Please?”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

Jim was about to spin some perfectly plausible answer….”fine, fuck it: you either cope or you don’t.”

You could see the question marks hovering over the man's head, seriously.

“You don’t have to do anything: I hired you as a bodyguard and… well general aide. Hopefully you don't need to act like a bodyguard…”

“Yesss? You said…”

“But I was kind of hoping you didn't mind guys…”

He looked so adorably puzzled, it was clear he was trying to figure it out and missing the big obvious answer flashing neon in front of him.

Jim sighed and spelled it out, “i think you’re gorgeous and i REALLY want to fuck you.”

Sebastian blinked twice slowly and then he started to grin… and oh LORD have mercy Jim’s libido skipped a beat- or was that his heart? _ Nah, I don't have one. _

“Oh.” Sebastian said and then he BLUSHED and the big scary killer ducked his head and looked up at him with those bright eyes… and this time his features weren’t hidden by unkempt hair and clothes that didn't fit. 

“I… um… haven't… with a person… in a long time, but… I never thought…” he waved vaguely in the direction of Jim’s trousers, “It doesn't make a difference.”

Jim glanced around- nope, no one anywhere nearby or looking- “well, that’s why I want you to have a blood test, and i’ll get mine updated…”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

Jim put a hand against the wall and leaned in, “because it's bad luck to send a trained killer who isn't used to you and is a bit skittish into a sexual panic?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and suddenly his arm was around Jim and pulling him in close up against that chest. “I haven't had a sexual panic since I was sixteen.” he bit his lower lip just a bit and Jim damn near whined. “But if it's JUST for that? Yeah, a blood test is fine.”

“Then we should get on our way before the blood rushing south makes me do something the locals will object to.”

“Heh.” Sebastian let go of him and Jim all but dragged him to the clinic.


	5. rocking the boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a bit of exercise and then to bed...

Naturally some bigoted would-be tough guys were watching people coming out of the clinic- naturally they were. Jim felt like an idiot for not thinking about the possibility- he blamed a very good looking ginger distraction- but it did mean he got to see Sebastian in action…briefly.

Sebastian had spotted trouble as they walked out- he wasn't sure WHY they wanted to bother the two of them, but they did. He felt a bit slow and less coordinated than he liked, but they were amateurs and he took them down pretty fast…. 

“THAT was hot.” Jim sighed happily, “You were on them like a lion on lambs.”

Sebastian chuckled and walked back to Jim, and put his arm around the man’s waist. “Tiger, if anything.” he thought it was funny: Tiger both for tigershark, which he was, and for India where he spent so much of his life...

“Tiger,” Jim looked up at the sharp smile, and the gingery hair, and the bright eyes and pictured scars like stripes and markings… and grinned, “Tiger it is.”

“Why do you think they tried that? Do I look that out of it?” Sebastian sighed slightly, “Used to be the gangs had better sense.”

“Its a clinic that does rapid blood tests, in a tourist heavy town, and two men walked out together- they were gay bashing: they probably assumed your muscles were just from the gym.”

“Oh? Oh!” Sebastian shook his head, “well, I need to hit the gym: I was too slow.”

“That was slow?” Jim’s eyes widened, “Ooookay… All I can tell you is that it was hot as hell and I really want to get you back to my flat… damn, i wonder if they’ll be done with the work soon?”

“Not back to the boat?”

“We may have to suffer through an inadequately sized bed, yes.”

Sebastian flushed and started thinking about sex and looked his human- Jim- over, “As… I said… it's … been a while…”

“I’d be delighted to refresh your memory,” Jim grinned in a rather sharklike fashion himself, and then tried to put a serious look on his face, “but… seriously if you don't want to, or… don't want to YET… you tell me.”

Sebastian laughed and picked Jim up with one arm, much to Jim’s initial alarm. “Oh I WANT to, I just… I don’t want to hurt you?”

Jim processed the careful hold, the fact that the man hadn’t broken stride, and his words, and willed his heart rate back down…

… and then he started thinking about the risks and advantages of those kinds of muscles in bed…_ hmmm. _

“Tiger… would… you.. Maybe… be willing…”

“Yes.”

Jim swatted him- he still hadn't put him down. “You don’t even know what i was going to ASK you?!”

He considered, “Ok, PROBABLY yes.”

Jim tried not to laugh, but it was rather ridiculous, “Put me down!”

Sebastian did, and then grinned, “Whatever you were asking the answer really is probably yes- i like sex, and you weren’t trying to hurt me… it’s just been a long time.”

“I was suggesting that since you are THAT strong- sexy as it is- and it has been a while… maybe I could tie you up?”

Sebastian broke stride for a moment and looked puzzled, This still involves sex, though?”

Jim grinned, “yes it still involves sex.”

“Okay.” he shrugged.

“Oh, we are SO going to get along…”

…

Jim considered any number of methods of restraining one very strong, and somewhat uncontrolled Tiger, but most of them he had to rule out given that Sebastian apparently had some kind of PTSD…

Eventually they came up with a compromise of ropes tied around his wrists with easy release knots- any sailor would know down to his bones that just tugging on that loose line would unfasten it- the rope otherwise wound around the bed quite a bit, since the bed didn't have convenient tie points.

“I’m afraid shipboard beds were not meant for this,” Jim sighed and then grinned, “But you look utterly delicious.”

He did too: he took up most of the bed, of course, and the ropes, honestly, were more decorative than effective, but still…

“Well,” Sebastian grinned with that unsettlingly wide smile, “If you try to bite me, i do bite back…”

“Maybe a friendly nip.” Jim smirked and started running his hands over that body: he’d been imagining doing just this since he got a good look at the man.

Jim ran his hands carefully over Sebastian, and then again with more strength behind the motion as he felt muscles respond happily- he liked being touched. Jim didn’t like to admit it but it had been a while since he did anything either- and longer still since it was something he did for fun. Sebastian moaned musically as Jim felt along the scars- where did the skin move freely, and where were the adhesions: not many of those.

Sebastian was panting just a bit when he growled out, “Planning on teasing me to death?”

Jim looked up with a smirk, “No… I hadn't PLANNED on it…”

Sebastian huffed a laugh.

Jim leaned down and nipped gently at his collarbone, “This kind of biting alright?”

“Oh God…” and he arched up into it.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” and Jim nipped and sucked and licked his way down past muscle and scars… _ That shark bite must have been pretty serious… that was a knife wound in a very bad place...ah… there we are _. He lowered his head over a very nice prick and looked up the length of the man’s body.

Sebastian was staring down at him- still panting and with a sheen of sweat, “Best… not bite… there…”

Jim licked the tip of it and watched with amusement as Sebastian’s eyes nearly crossed and he fell back on the bed with a groan.

“Wouldn't dream of it!” Jim said cheerfully and started sucking and licking… and damn straight nipping- very carefully…

Sebastian’s moans took on more of a howling component and he bucked his hips up into Jim’s mouth… 

Eventually Jim started working him over a bit faster and the bed started creaking alarmingly.

“I take it you don’t object if i decide to do some riding?” Jim asked as innocently as he could manage as he slid UP Sebastian.

Somewhere in that desperate moan was the word, “Please!” 

Jim eyed the restraints with some caution at first, but after a short while he was too absorbed to concern himself.

_ Big strong good looking man all tied down and eager beneath me… boat rocking just a bit by itself...who could ask for more? _

…

Sebastian started begging.

_ OOoooooooh that did it _: tipped Jim right over the edge.

… And apparently his going over sent Sebastian finally over the edge with a shout loud enough to make Jim glad that his only neighbors in the marina were understanding souls… and at least one couple was fairly deaf.

~

_ After coming down from what… _

Sebastian was fairly certain_ sex hadnt been this good before? … _

_ anyway spots… _

_ GOD this human, Jim, was incredible!... _

_ air… _

_ breathe... _

Sebastian finally pulled his wits together enough to pull the right bit of rope and untie himself. And then force his arms to work the right way- he felt a bit like a jellyfish- but eventually he got his arms around this incredible human that he was absolutely never letting go ever!

_ Hell maybe I shouldn't let him out of BED… _

_ No… _

_ I need coffee… _

“I have to let you out of bed for coffee, you know.”

JIm stared down at him and finally one corner of his mouth quirked upwards, “oh?”

“Yes,” Sebastian nodded, “You can’t make coffee in bed. If you could I wouldn't let you up.”

Jim snorted, “Oh just you wait until we get to a real bedroom, Tiger… but i appreciate the compliment.”

Sebastian sighed happily and pulled Jim down against him.

…

“Sebastian, I do hate to tell you this, but i need to pee.”

…

That… was an unfortunately good idea. 

After various things were tended to, his human went back to the room and seemed surprised that Sebastian followed him.

“Helping me change the sheets?”

“Change? Oh! Sure.”

He helped him change the sheets and then pulled Jim in close.

“...Tiger?”

“Hmm?”

“Uh… aren't you going back to your room?”

“No? Why?”

“I… thought you would?”

Sebastian tried to figure out why he would think that, but it obviously didn't make sense. “No? You’re here? I can protect you, we can have sex, and when we get up we get coffee.”

Jim seemed like he was sputtering about it, but Sebastian just wrapped his arm around him and went to sleep.

Jim was probably just one of those people who couldn't settle down if they got too tired.

**Author's Note:**

> i am an aspiring mermaid, but have limited real life experience with diving so please pardon any lapses in my terminology. Also sharks are awesome and i am terrified of them, but they are still awesome.


End file.
